© 2024 Olga López
© 2024 Urantia Association of Spain
Olga López
UBIS “In Focus” Series
November 3, 2024
Paper 72 of The Urantia Book (Government of a Neighboring Planet) has always been one of my favorites. I particularly like this paper because it describes a society that, while not perfect, is in many ways closer to utopia than the most advanced societies on Urantia. Not only that: it’s a type of society that would be feasible on this planet right now, if only a little effort were put into implementing many of the ideas these brothers from Satania have already made a reality. Hence my great interest in this paper and in the ideas the revelators suggest when describing this extraterrestrial civilization.
Before I begin to describe the extremely interesting measures that have been implemented in this world related to family life, I would like to highlight the exceptional fact that a document like this has been part of the revelation. Let us remember that we are isolated from the rest of the system by a quarantine that has been firmly maintained for hundreds of thousands of years. Humans on one planet don’t know what is happening in other humanities on other worlds, and we have no way of knowing it for ourselves.
The revealers (with the permission of our System Sovereign, Lanaforge) have given us the great gift of explaining how another civilization lives, thus overcoming the great problem of distance. The main reason appears almost at the end of the document:
This recital of the affairs of a neighboring planet is made by special permission with the intent of advancing civilization and augmenting governmental evolution on Urantia… UB 72:12.3
That said, let’s now turn to one of the aspects of the most advanced nation on this neighboring planet, which is what brought us to this symposium: family life.
In Paper 72, there is an entire section, section 3, devoted exclusively to family life. From the very beginning, we are told that the civilization on the neighboring planet has social customs very different from our own.
Let’s review, point by point, the characteristics of family life in this alien nation, following the following guide for each one:
And finally, one aspect I would like us to be able to discuss among all of us:
In the alien nation, not only does each family have their own home, but there’s also a minimum lot size for housing, which is 4,600 square meters. That’s a good-sized plot! To give you an idea, a possible configuration would be 100 meters wide by 46 meters long. And remember, that would be the minimum size! Land and property are encouraged to be used as family homes, as they are tax-free up to a surface area ten times the minimum allowed per home.
How far away are we?
If we compare this with what happens in Urantian societies, we find an important difference here. Economic necessity often forces two families to live under the same roof. In Spain, the cost of housing (whether owned or rented) has increased enormously in recent years and represents a significant portion of daily expenses. This means that, especially among young people, they share apartments with people with whom they have no family ties or even friendships. This inability to obtain housing has delayed the emancipation of young people and has “infantilized” those who have managed to emancipate themselves at the cost of sharing a home with others, as they are unable to start a family. In my country, 65% of young people between the ages of 18 and 34 still live at home with their parents.
The right to decent housing is enshrined in the Spanish Constitution, but in practice it’s more of a blessing than a guarantee for citizens. Today, housing is an investment, rather than a right, which has caused prices to skyrocket. Furthermore, there is a severe shortage of publicly funded housing, and rental assistance is insufficient.
In the alien nation, once you pass a certain age (30), if you’re not married and can’t live with your parents, you have to move into group housing with other single people. Group housing was made illegal for families; only single people can live in it.
How far away are we?
In today’s Spanish society, given that housing is difficult to obtain, starting a family is penalized and single life is encouraged. Furthermore, despite young people’s connection to social media, they struggle to socialize in real life and find a partner.
In this society, responsible parenthood is advocated to the point that both fathers and mothers must attend childcare schools, regardless of where they live (if they cannot attend school in person, they take the course by correspondence).
How far away are we?
Once again, the gap with even the most advanced of our societies is vast. As far as I know, nothing similar exists anywhere in the world, and even less so considering that these courses are mandatory on the neighboring planet.
In the alien nation, families have an average of five children (which is large by Western standards).
Considering that the alien nation is similar in size to Australia (7.7 million km2) and has a population of about 140 million (similar to that of Russia), we can calculate that its population density is about 18 inhabitants per km2. This is a relatively low population density by Urantian standards (the country with a similar population density is Libya, to give you an idea), so such a high number of children does not seem to pose an overpopulation problem in that neighboring nation at the moment. This explains why the size of family farms is what it is (remember what we saw in point 1).
Another notable difference is that in this society there are no orphanages, but rather orphans are placed in the care of another family, who must go through a parental tribunal to prove they are worthy of the honor of caring for an orphan.
How far away are we?
Looking at fertility rates by country[1], we see that in Western societies we are far from that average. We only see that average in African countries. In Spain, for example, the rate is 1.2, not far from the bottom of the list, where South Korea and Hong Kong stand out, with an average of 0.8 children (World Bank, 2022).
Significantly, until 2003, a large family in Spain was considered to be one with four children and received some, though not extensive, state aid (tax breaks, university scholarships, etc.). Since that year, the definition has been changed to include three children. Nowadays, it’s rare to see families with more than one or two children among the generations of childbearing age.
Regarding adoptions, in Urantian societies, not only are the adoption mechanisms very different. The vast majority would never consider adopting an orphan unless it were someone from their own family. In Spain, the adoption process is lengthy and the conditions for adoption are very strict, which forces families interested in adopting to go to other countries (historically, the most common countries have been China and Russia, although these are now implementing more restrictive policies). It is also true that it entails a significant financial expense that not everyone can afford.
In the alien nation, the home is considered the basic institution of their civilization, where children are raised and their character is formed. Both fathers and mothers are involved in this development.
How far away are we?
While it’s true that the family in our world is also the basic institution of civilization, it’s also true that mothers still have a greater involvement in raising their children, and they bear the brunt of the burden of running a home. For example, in Spain, this is slowly changing, and men are taking on more tasks, but the distribution is still far from equitable. If we look at other societies, there’s still a long way to go.
On the neighboring planet, parents or legal guardians are responsible for providing sex education at home.
How far away are we?
Generally speaking, in Western societies, sex education is taught in schools and within families (or at least in theory). In the specific case of Spain, I would venture to say there is still a long way to go. Devoting time to sex education for children and young people depends largely on the progressive or conservative attitude of families. With the conservative wave we are experiencing not only in my country, but in Europe and other societies around the world, more and more obstacles are being placed in the way of sex education that does not repress adolescents’ sexual lives and is open to all sexual orientations and identities.
In recent years, an alarming development has been occurring in Spain: unrestricted and unsupervised mobile phone use among children and pre-adolescents is causing them to be highly exposed to pornography and to believe that this is normal sexual behavior, leading to more sexual assaults at younger ages.
On the neighboring planet, moral education is the responsibility of teachers.
How far away are we?
Here we can see considerable differences. At least in my country, moral education has not received the attention it deserves in schools, and it has always been a minor subject, if present at all. Nor has it been a practical-oriented education, but rather one that provides theoretical knowledge about the history of morality and how philosophers have considered it over time. So we could say that the source of moral values is primarily the family.
In the alien nation, religious instruction is the exclusive privilege of parents, as religion is considered an integral part of family life. Religion is such a family matter that there are no public places designated exclusively for religious gatherings. Not so many years ago, spiritual teachers periodically visited each family to verify that the children were receiving the proper religious instruction.
How far away are we?
In Spain, for example, religious education has been left to the schools, primarily Catholic religious schools (Catholicism, although it has declined over the years, remains the majority religion in my country). In my country, Catholic education was mandatory until 2006, but since then, children can choose between Religion or Ethics.
In the home, parents have always acted as reinforcements for the school, but they haven’t shouldered the burden of religious education. I dare say the situation is more or less similar in other societies.
In this society, children are under the legal guardianship of their parents until the age of fifteen, at which point they are first introduced to civic responsibilities. From then on, obligations to their parents gradually diminish, while new civic and social responsibilities toward the state are assumed. Furthermore, the minimum voting age is 20, the minimum age to marry without parental consent is 25, and, as mentioned above, no one over the age of 30 can continue to live in their parents’ home. It’s clear that on the neighboring planet, great importance is placed on the maturity that age brings when it comes to participating in society.
How far away are we?
As you can see, the difference with our planet is very significant in this regard. In Spain, for example, the age of majority is 18, which is the age at which one can vote, obtain a driver’s license (motorcycles can be driven from 16), be criminally responsible for one’s actions, drink alcohol, marry without parental consent, and have other rights and obligations. In other countries, it may be 19, 20, or 21, and certain legal rights may or may not be included. In any case, emancipation is not usually gradual; rather, it seems that with the age of majority, a person’s legal status changes overnight.
And here we come to the last point we will address in this presentation, on marriage and divorce. In this society, a marriage license is only granted one year after application, and after the couple has presented certificates proving that they have been properly instructed in parenting schools on the responsibilities of married life. Regarding divorce, there are fewer restrictions than with marriage, but a decree cannot be obtained until one year after application. Even so, the divorce rate is one-tenth of that among the civilized races of Urantia.
How far away are we?
In general, in Urantian societies, there are no premarital courses, at least not mandatory ones. In Spain, at least for Catholic couples, there are some sort of premarital classes, usually taught by a priest or a married couple affiliated with the parish.
For several years now, civil weddings have outnumbered religious weddings in Spain. According to the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE), in 2019 (the last year with complete data), there were 65.8% civil weddings, compared to 34.2% religious weddings. And civil weddings do not require premarital counseling.
The percentage of couples living together without being legally married has also been increasing (in 2020, according to the INE, this percentage reached 18% of households). Of these, some may eventually marry, but the law now prohibits penalizing those who do not wish to marry, and common-law couples are now guaranteed the right to receive widow’s pensions and other state benefits, among others that only married people enjoyed years ago.
Regarding divorce, the divorce rate has been rising in Spain since it was legalized (1981), reflecting attitudes toward marriage and the stability of relationships. In Spain, for example, the divorce rate is 2.1 per 1,000 inhabitants, or 1.49 per 1,000 married couples. [2] As a developed country, my country follows the trend of other similar ones: while the divorce rate increases, the marriage rate decreases.
The time it takes from filing for divorce to becoming effective depends on many factors, especially whether the divorce is by mutual consent or not. If both parties agree, it can be completed in a matter of months. If there is no agreement, the divorce can take years to become effective.
And this concludes this quick review of family life on the neighboring planet, which I believe gives us a good starting point for discussing and reflecting on whether Urantian societies can (or should) implement these measures and approach alien society. I look forward to your comments!